


Must've Been the Mistletoe

by dot11



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Christmas, F/M, FitzSimmons Secret Santa, Holiday, Mistletoe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-29
Updated: 2017-12-29
Packaged: 2019-02-23 10:40:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13188375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dot11/pseuds/dot11
Summary: Fitz and Jemma are at odds with each other over the holidays, and the whole base feels it. A small suggestion of a cheesy holiday romantic comedy viewing ends up taking a turn when the two friends find themselves the stars of their very own cheesy holiday story. That elf on the shelf certainly has plans to make them learn the meaning of Christmas together, but their only way out of this alternate reality hell filled with Christmas Cheer appears to involve mistletoe...





	Must've Been the Mistletoe

**Author's Note:**

  * For [EclecticMuse](https://archiveofourown.org/users/EclecticMuse/gifts).



It was Daisy who suggested the film as a sort of holiday pick-me-up. Fitz being dragged into the room was the first clue that it was a setup. Daisy glared menacingly until they both sat. Fitz subtly sidled over, choosing one of the chairs instead of joining Jemma on the sofa. Both women rolled their eyes.

“I don’t know what’s going on between you two lately, but you’re the ones that usually bring a little cheer to this grey old place,” Daisy said sternly. “So I’m forcing the holidays on you whether you want it or not.” She pushed play, and Fitz let out an audible groan.

“It’s a bloody romantic comedy!” He whined. “Not even a good one!”

Daisy glared as a carol began to play over the scene of a picturesque small-town decked out for the Christmas season.

“Excuse me! The cheesy romantic holiday movie is a staple. You don’t have to like it, but that’s pretty much the point. They’re stupid and fun and magical: just like the holidays.”

Fitz opened his mouth to complain again, but she cut him off, cocking her head and narrowing her eyes. “Suck it up. And watch the film,” she said. He shut his mouth with a grumpy pout.

That appeared to satisfy her. “Thank you. And just to be sure, I want to hear all about it when we get back.” She slapped their knees and stood abruptly.

“Get back?” Jemma asked nervously.

“Yeah. We’ve got a quick mission,” Daisy chirped. “You two are on your own ‘til we get back.”

“Fantastic.” Fitz crossed his arms over his chest. Daisy grinned smugly to herself and left the two scientists alone in an uncomfortable silence together.

The film was exactly as terrible and cheesy as they both expected. There were an infinite number of groans from both of them.

“Well that’s just illogical.”

“That would never happen like that.”

Foreheads were slapped repeatedly at painful one-liners that weaved their way back to the spirit of Christmas. Not even Jemma could help herself from trying to talk sense at the television set when the female lead fell into a thinly veiled mistaken identity plot.

When the romantic music swelled and the couple shared their first kiss, Jemma was surprisingly  irritated when Fitz coughed uncomfortably, jolting her out of the moment. He pointed behind them.

“For God’s sake. When did anyone even have time to get one of those elf on the shelf things, more less hide it?”

“Oh,” Jemma said, following his finger. A small red creepy looking elf sat behind one of the columns on the floor, staring at them. “Well that’s a bit unsettling.”

“I don’t know why Daisy’s complaining. We don’t need to go all out for every holiday.”

“Yes, I suppose.” Jemma was torn. Fitz was actually talking to her, which was a rare thing these days. But she had to admit, she was actually being drawn into the film a bit and didn’t want to miss the climax because of his grumpy ramblings. It put her in a sour mood. She crossed her arms over her chest.

“Did they shut off the heat too?” Fitz grumbled, also crossing his arms over his chest.

“You know you can always join me on the sofa. There are blankets here.”

He glanced over quickly and made a face at the ceiling. Jemma looked up too. Mistletoe was taped above the couch, right smack dab in the middle. Clearly Daisy had some sort of scheme in mind when she’d set this whole scenario up. Jemma rolled her eyes. “Will you grow up? It’s just a silly decoration. You don’t have to pay attention to it.” She held the blanket up, gesturing for him to join her.

His face went through a wide range of emotions, despite his best efforts. She waited patiently as the couple on screen chuckled and tried to make light of their accidental kiss.

“Fine,” Fitz growled. He sat with a defiant flomp on the couch next to Simmons, scooching as far from her to the other side as he could. She tossed the blanket at him.

Simmons was having trouble focusing on the rest of the film though. The words began to turn to mush in her ears and her eyelids had trouble staying open. 

If Fitz hadn’t also already closed his eyes and slumped sleepily towards Jemma, they might have noticed that the little elf in the corner was now sitting on the shelf above the television set. It looked down at the two of them and made a tutting noise. It wiggled its nose, smiled, then gave the sleeping pair a wink.

* * *

Jemma rubbed her eyes open with a yawn and looked around. It took her a moment to adjust to the bright white light that filled the comfortable room. Was that the soft sound of jingle bells? She sat up and peered out the curtains next to her bed.

Snow covered the yard outside her window. The neighbouring homes and yards were lined with white picket fences decorated with pine boughs and ribbons. Festive wreaths hung from welcoming doorways, jingle bells attached to each knocker, and colourful lights hung from the eaves. A thick layer of snow blanketed the landscape before her.

Where was she? Where was Fitz?

A doorbell rang, and with a jolt, she realized it was hers. She threw the elaborate quilt off of her and raced down the stairs, hoping it was Fitz, or at least some sort of explanation to what was going on.

A plump middle aged woman met her on the other side of the door. Her glasses gleamed in the sunlight, and her Christmas sweater glared beneath her heavy coat.

“Hello Miss Simmons!” the woman said cheerfully.

“H-hello?”

The woman scrunched her rosy nose, looking Jemma up and down. “Do you perhaps need a few more minutes to get ready?”

Jemma hugged herself tightly, looking down at the frilly nightdress she was suddenly wearing. “Ready?” she repeated, trying to act casual. Her mind was reeling. How had her clothes changed? Had someone changed them for her as she slept? If she just knew where Fitz was, then they could surely think of a logical explanation for all this madness.

“Well I did offer you a lift down to the community centre, didn’t I?” The woman sniffed. “Since your car is in the shop?”

“Oh. Right,” Simmons spoke cautiously. “Thank you… That’s very kind.”  She decided that if she just kept her composure and played along, perhaps there would be some clues as to where she was and what was going on.

The woman chortled. “I’d say it is. You being new in town, you’d have got lost anyways. Then we’d be more hands short than we already are.”

“Yes. Absolutely.” Jemma smiled brightly, ignoring the woman’s sour tone. She had just been given a clue. Apparently, she was new in town. “I’ll just pop up and get ready then, shall I?”

“And please hurry, we’ve got a schedule,” the woman called after her before trundling back to her car.

 

The community centre was the pride and joy of the small town, Mapleglen. It looked like an  elaborate log-cabin, with multiple stories and detailed woodwork making up the exterior. The tall evergreens out front spiced the air perfectly for the season, mingling with the smell of a burning wood fire. Despite the sun shining, a warm glow emitted from each window.

For her part, Jemma was more than a little bewildered at it all. At first she thought she might be having some sort of elaborate dream, but the cold and the wet of the snow was all too real for that to be possible.

“I hope you’re ready to work hard today Miss Simmons,” the woman, Mrs. Henderson, said. “There’s much to prepare for the Christmas Eve dance tonight.”

“Oh yes,” Jemma said vaguely, looking around the front entrance in awe. Even the spiral staircase had little wolves and horses whittled into the banister.

“Hello Miss Simmons,” a gangly teenage girl said quickly, rushing down the steps. “Almost finished the biology homework already. One or two more questions to get through. Hoping to get it done early like you suggested!” She grinned, revealing braces. Jemma smiled back, wondering how to respond.

“Gretchen please,” Mrs Henderson scolded, cutting between them. “We don’t have time for idle chit chat! Miss Simmons is only here to decorate today, not to be your science teacher. Focus!”

The girl, Gretchen, ducked her head and hurried off without another word. The rest of the morning went much the same, and didn’t allow for much time to get answers. Jemma was immediately thrust into Mrs. Henderson’s strict list of to-dos, and the few kids that were there to help from the local high school were very much on task, almost afraid to step on the woman’s toes. It both suited Jemma fine, as it gave her mind a chance to catch up with her new surroundings, and frustrated her to no end. She still had very little data about where she was and how she had arrived there.

 

Midway through the morning, the community centre doors opened wide, settling a definite hush among the busy workers. Simmons let out a gasp as at least one of her pressing questions became known.

Fitz walked in and dusted the snow off his hood. All eyes were on him, especially as his eyes found her. He seemed to relax a bit.

“Now now, Fitz,” Mrs. Henderson stepped forward. “We have a busy schedule and we don’t need you and Miss Simmons causing a fuss with your arguments again!”

“Yeah, no,” he muttered, drawing his eyes away from her. “I uh, I’m here to help out. My mum said you needed a hand here. Wouldn’t let me stick round home.”

Mrs. Henderson glared at him, then at Simmons. Finally Jemma stepped forward, unable to bare any further unanswered questions. “We could definitely use the help,” she said sweetly. “If I just had a bit of a word with Fitz first, I’m sure we’d be no trouble.”

At the side of the auditorium, Gretched whispered loudly to her friend. “But they hate each other!”

Jemma smiled brighter, and Fitz took her cue, standing next to her and nodding agreeably.

“Fine,” Mrs. Henderson glowered. “Two minutes. But if I get a whiff that the two of you will derail the decorating process for the dance tonight, you’re both out!”

“Of course,” Jemma said, and pulled Fitz by the arm to the empty hallway.

As soon as they were alone, Fitz let out a deep gush of air. “Where the hell are we?” He hissed under his breath.

“You mean you’re not part of this too?” Jemma breathed. “Oh thank God!” She pulled him into a tight hug, overflowing with relief. He stiffened, then coughed uncomfortably. She stepped back with an apologetic smile. “I can at least answer one of those questions for you,” she said, brushing her hair off of her forehead. “Mapleglen. Apparently I’m the new Science teacher at the local high school.”

“Really? I appear to be a mechanic,” Fitz said, amused. “So… so is this some sort of… alternate universe or something? Some sort of game or program we’ve been dropped into?”

“That’s a decent hypothesis,” she nodded. “Perhaps it’s a simulation of some sort?”

“You know what it’s like?”  Fitz snapped his fingers. “It feels like one of those ridiculous romantic movies Daisy was forcing us to watch!”

“Don’t be silly Fitz, those films are far too unrealistic for us to be-”

“As a matter of fact,” a small high-pitched voice said from behind them, “it’s exactly like one of those romantic movies you were watching!” Both Jemma and Fitz yelped and spun around.

It was the small elf on the shelf that had been at their base earlier.

“Sorry to surprise you,” the elf said. “I’m Tinkle!” Met with shock and silence, the little elf carried on. “I’m here to spread Christmas cheer, and you two are in desperate need of it. Don’t worry, you’ll return home to your normal lives just as soon as you’ve learned the meaning of Christmas together!”

Fitz blinked. Then blinked again. “You can’t be serious.”

“Learn the meaning of Christmas?” Jemma scoffed. “How are we supposed to do that?”

“Oh, don’t tell me,” Fitz raised a finger, facing Simmons. “Is this going to be like one of those ghosts of Christmas past thing?”

“I hardly think so Fitz,” she replied. “For one, we’re both here, and neither of us recognize-”

“Nothing like that!” The elf squeaked, cutting in before they got carried away. “Will you let me finish?”

Fitz and Simmons shut their mouths like school children and faced the small red elf standing in front of them.

“This isn’t a simulation, it’s a lesson,” he said. “You are living a romanticized version of Christmas in order to teach you the true meaning of it.”

“Is there any way we could just thank you for the lesson and head home now?” Jemma tried pleasantly.

“No,” the elf grinned. “You need to play it out and learn the lesson in order to get home.”

She winced. “Play it out how?”

“I can’t give everything away,” the elf said cheekily. “But it might have something to do with Mistletoe!”

“Please be less vague!” Fitz groaned.

The elf found this very entertaining, and the two had to wait impatiently for his giggles to subside before he was able to respond. “Less vague it is!” The elf chuckled, catching his breath. He looked them both in the eye, suddenly very serious. “If you two share a true Christmas Kiss under the mistletoe, then you can head home and my work is done!” He beamed.

Fitz and Simmons dropped their jaws, then looked at each other. Before they could ask any more of the pressing questions that the elf had just stirred up, there was a small popping sound, and the elf disappeared. “That’s all you get from me!” His voice echoed through the empty air.

Fitz frowned, then began to pace. “What does that even all mean?”

“A Christmas Kiss?” Jemma pondered. He looked at her blankly, then continued pacing.

“Probably something about the spirit of Christmas, love and warmth and helping others and all that, blah blah blah.” He pressed his thumb to the bridge of his nose.

“I don’t buy it,” Jemma said. “We got here somehow, and I find it hard to believe that a ‘Christmas Kiss’ would send us back. It all feels real, not like a simulation at all.”

“Right. You’re right.”

She smiled and took a step towards him. “Every action must have an equal and opposite reaction. There’s got to be a way for us to get home that we can figure out without that creepy elf and his vague set of rules,” she smiled.

Fitz nodded. “Yeah, we can figure our way out of this one,” he said. He sighed and looked up at the ceiling to think.

Jemma followed his line of sight and let out an involuntary snort. “Well that’s convenient.” She made a face.  A small patch of mistletoe was taped to the ceiling above Fitz.

Before she could say anything else, he grabbed Jemma’s elbow and pulled her over to him. Closing his eyes, he pushed his lips to hers. 

They both froze like that for a moment. The way he came at her, she expected a rough peck on the lips, but the moment lasted much longer than expected. His hands suddenly came up and gripped the sides of her arms, and her pulse quickened. He pushed away. “Sorry. Lost my balance,” he muttered, looking down at his feet.

She nodded, oddly breathless, until she recovered her senses. “What was that?”

“Well, we’re helping a bunch of kids and it’s snowy out.” he said, scratching the back of his head, eyes cautiously looking at her. “That’s pretty damn Christmassy in my books. Doesn’t hurt to try the quick route home, yeah?”

She blinked and nodded slowly, resisting the urge to touch her fingertips to her lips. “Did it work?” They looked both looked up and then around their current surroundings.

“Nope.” Fitz said, crestfallen. “Still in Bloody Mapleglen.”

“Should we… try again?” Jemma said, oddly nervous.

Fitz blinked and opened his mouth. When no sound came out, she lost her nerve. But before she could tell him so, the door from the auditorium opened. It was Mrs. Henderson.

“There you two are!” she huffed. “Are you quite done yet? Fitz, if you’re staying, we need someone to get up that ladder to hang the garlands.” She fixed them with a pompous glare then toddled out.

“Don’t worry,” Fitz said. “We’ll figure this out properly once we get a moment alone. Even if it means we have to try that,” he pointed up at the mistletoe, “again. As a last resort.” Turning beet red, Fitz ducked back into the auditorium without a backwards glance at Jemma.


End file.
